The Sports View

The Olympics are over and I have heard some questions that maybe you the reader will want to consider.

What will happen to all the flags and banners that are hanging on all the streets in almost every town in Utah after the ParaOlympics are over? Where will they go? Who will abscond with them? Will we see them for sale on e-Bay?

Are you embarrassed by the number of medals the United States won at the games? Some people I have talked to say they are. They say it looks like the rest of the world really got "homered." They ask how a country that won only 13 medals in 1998 could triple that medal count in four years?

Do you think the judging, where it counted was fair? If you watched the Olympics did you see times that it seemed one country or another was favored? Do you think the awarding ot two gold medals in pairs figure skating was the right thing to do?

Do you think the Russians were "whiners" for complaining about what they thought was unfair judging, particularly against their teams and individual competitors?

What do you think the legacy of the games will mean to Utah in general and Salt Lake in particular?

Do you think the world views our state different now than it did before being in the limelight of the games? Do you think the stereotypes of a dowdy society, men with multiple wives and a lack of coffee has been dispelled?

Do you think we will end up like Calgary in 1988 with a big tax bill in the end or will these games show a big profit?

Do you think that the short track speed skating race Apollo Anton Ono won due to a disqualification of a Korean skater was fair?

Do you think Olympic athletes who were found guilty of doping at one game or in one event should have all of their medals stripped from them?

Do you think the games were worth the $350 million dollars the federal government invested in security alone?

Should the torch have spent three days in Colorado on it's way to the Olympics when that state voted down having the Olympics in their back yard 20 years ago, while many towns in Utah didn't even come close to seeing it?

Do you think the opening and closing ceremonies were a little much, even for a country that seems to bask in extravagance?

Did you figure out what curling is?

Since basketball is really a winter sport, shouldn't it be included in the Winter Olympics rather than in the Summer Olympics?

Are the Winter Olympics getting too big and expensive for most countries to handle? Could there come a time when the games are so large that places like Albertville and St. Moritz could not handle them?

What other sports should be included in the winter games or should they be reduced in size?

Do you really think they keep the backup flame in a container so that when the torch accidentally gets blown out it can be relit or do you think it's just a matchbook from Caesar's Palace in that little container?

Do you think Utah should start planning to apply to host the games in 2026, the closest year to the 100 anniversary of the winter games?